NEW BIS-NAPHTHALIMIDES FOR THE TREATMENT OF CANCER

Abstract: Disclosed herein are compounds, pharmaceutical compositions containing same of formula (I). A compound of formula (I) wherein X, X', X'' and X''', A, D, R, and R' are as identified in the specification and their preparation. Pharmaceutical compositions containing same can be used in the treatment of cancer.

Description: New Bis-naphthalimides for the Treatment of Cancer Description This invention relates to new bis-naphthalimides and their salts, processes for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions con¬ taining them and methods of using them to treat malignancies in a mammal, particularly solid tumor carcinomas such as colon carci- noma, breast tumors, prostate cancer and non-small lung carci¬ noma. Harnish et al., U.S. Patent 4,841,052 issued June 20, 1989 dis¬ closes bis-naphthalic acid imides useful as charge-regulating substances in electrophotographic toners. Brana et al., U.S. Patent 4,874,883 issued October 17, 1989 dis¬ closes anticancer compounds of the formula: wherein X, X', X'' and X' '' are identical or different and are each H, N0 2 , NH 2 , Ci-Cβ alkylamino, di-Cι-C 6 alkylamino, OH, Ci-Cβ alkoxy, halogen, trihalomethyl, Ci-Cε alkyl, formyl, Cχ-C 6 alkyl- carbonyl, ureyl, Cχ-C 6 alkylureyl and R is a straight chain or branched C -Cχo alkylene which is interrupted at one or two points in the chain by a secondary or tertiary amino group, where 2 ni- trogen atoms may additionally be bonded to one another by an alkylene group, or a salt with a physiologically tolerated acid. Ardecky et al., U.S. Patent No. 5,086,059, issued February 4, 1992 discloses naphthalimides containing an ethano bridge across the 4 and 5 positions of the naphthalimide ring. Those compounds were said to be efficacious against cancer and more soluble in aqueous media than prior art compounds. Sun, U.S. Patent No. 5,206,249, issued April 27, 1993, discloses bisnaphthalimides with naphthalimide rings containing at least one nitro substituent, joined by branched bridging moieties as anticancer drugs. Sun et al, PCT/US92/10525, published 24 June 1993 discloses bis-naphthalimides with naphthalimide rings con¬ taining at least one nitro substituent, joined by branched bridg¬ ing moieties . Brafia et al. 1992 Germ. Pat. Appln. 42 32 739.3 September 30, 1992, discloses asymmetric bis-naphthalimides. Harnish, U.S. Patent No. 4,919,848 discloses bisnaphthalimides which are intermediates for the preparation of compounds for quenching the fluorescence generated by anionic optical brighten- ers. Heretofore it had been thought that substitution, particularly nitro substitution, on the naphthalimide ring(s) is important for anti-tumor efficacy of bis-naphthalimides, whether via interac¬ tions involved in DNA intercalation of the nitrobisnaphthalimide or otherwise. We have surprisingly found, however, that such nitro substitution is not required for anti-tumor activity after all, and in fact, that certain bisnaphthalimides which lack nitro substituion and/or which have new combinations of ring substitu- ents and bridge geometry, as described in detail below, provide anti-tumor compositions with improved toxicity profiles, anti-tu¬ mor selectivity and/or solubility. This invention relates to bis-naphthalimide compounds of For¬ mula I (including the individual enantiomeric or diasteromeric forms thereof, mixture of such enantiomeric or diasteromeric forms and the pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts thereof) , pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds and methods of using them for treating cancer in a mammal: wherein X, X' , X' ' and X' ' ' are identical or different and are selected from the group consisting of H, N0 2 , NH 2 , NH-lower acyl, Cι- 6 alkylamino, di- Cι_ 6 alkylamino, OH, Cι_ 6 alkoxy, halogen, trihalomethyl, Cι- 6 alkyl, formyl, Cι_ 6 alkylcarbonyl, ureyl, and Ci_ 6 alkylureyl; or X and X' or X" and X"' may form an ethylen bridge between C-4, and C-5 of the ring systeme; R and R' are H, Ci- 4 alkyl, aryl or benzyl; A and D are identical or different and are -CH 2 -CH 2 -, which may be optionally substituted with a Cι- 4 alkyl substituent, and B is -(CH 2 ) n -, wherein n is 3 or 4 and wherein one hydrogen atom may be replaced by a Cι_ 4 -alkyl group. One class of compounds of this invention are bis-naphthalimides of Formula I in which at least one of X, X' , X' ' and X' ' ' are not H, i.e., wherein X, X', X'' and X'" are identical or different and are selected from the group consisting of N0 2 , NH 2 , NH-lower acyl, Cι_ 6 alkylamino, di- Cι_ 6 alkylamino, OH, Cι_ 6 alkoxy, halo- gen, trihalomethyl, Cι_ 6 alkyl, formyl, Cι_ 6 alkylcarbonyl, ureyl, and Cχ-6 alkylureyl. It is currently preferred in various embodi¬ ments of this class that none of X, X', X'' and X' ' ' are N0 . One sublass of the foregoing are bis-naphthalimides of Formula I wherein at least one of X, X', X" and X"' is NH 2 , NH-lower acyl, Ci_ 6 alkylamino or di-Cι_ 6 alkylamino. This class includes among others, compounds of Formula I in which X and X' ' are H; X' and X' " are NHCOCH 3 . Another class of such compounds are bis-naphthalimides of For¬ mula I wherein the bridging moiety joining the two ring systems is: -CH 2 -CH 2 -NR-CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 -NR-CH 2 -CH 2 - wherein R is as previously defined. These compounds include that in which X, X r , X' ' and X' ' ' and R are all H, a compound which is prefered. Symmetric compounds of this invention can be synthesized by reacting a naphthalic anhydride of Formula II with a half equiva¬ lent of a polyamine of Formula III, in an organic solvent such as, dioxane, ethanol, DMF, etc. at a temperature ranging from -20°C to the solvent boiling temperature (Scheme 1) . The solid is filtered from the reaction mixture, or the reaction mixture is evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure and the residue pu¬ rified by conventional means such as crystallization or chromato- graphy. Scheme 1 Asymmetric compounds can be synthesized by conventional protection of one of the amino termini of the polyamine (III) un¬ til condensation thereof with an equivalent of anhydride. Con¬ densation of the resulting product with another equivalent of anhydride is then conducted following removal of the protecting group blocking the amine. Compounds containing branched bridging moieties, i.e., where A and/or B bears an alkyl substituent, may be produced using methods adapted from Sun, US Patent No. 5,206,249, the full con¬ tents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference) . The bis-naphthalimide so obtained is used as is or it can be aci¬ dified with the appropriate mineral or organic acid to produce a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, e.g. the methanesulfonate or the acetate salt, which can be recovered by filtration. Salts of free base can also be prepared by acidifying a suspension of free base in ethyl alcohol, dichloromethane, ether, etc. with the ap¬ propriate mineral or organic acid and collecting the so formed solid by filtration. Other acids for salt formation are known in the art, see e.g., Brana et al., U.S. Patent 4,874,883. The 1,8-naphthalic anhydrides II and the corresponding polyamines of Formula III are commercially available or can be prepared by methods known in the literature. Branched polyamines may be syn¬ thesized and incorporated into bis-naphthalimides of this inven- tion using desired anhydride moieties by the methods of US Patent No. 5,206,249 (Sun) . This invention further encompasses pharmaceutical compositions containing a tumor-inhibiting compound of this invention together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. This invention also relates to methods for treating a tumor in a mammal comprising administration of a tumor-inhibiting amount of a compound of this invention to a mammal bearing such a tumor. The compounds of this invention may be formulated into pharmaceutical compositions and administered to patients using conventional materials and methods such as are described in Brana et al, US Patent No. 4,874,883 and Sun, US Patent No. 5,206,249 (the contents of both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference) . See especially US 5,206,249 at column 22, line 10 through the end of column 23. Compounds of this invention have cytotoxic activity useful in the treatment of various cancers. These compounds can be evaluated for relative efficacy in in vitro and in vivo models such as are generally accepted in this art, including those described in Sun, US Patent No. 5,206,249 (see especially column 19 to column 22, line 9) . Efficacy in such models is indicative of utility in the treatment of solid tumors in human patients and evidences impor¬ tant therapeutic utility in the treatment of cancer, particularly solid tumor carcinomas. A. In vitro methodology Cytotocitiy may be measured using a standard methodology for ad¬ herent cell lines such as the microculture tetrazolium assay (MTT) . Details of this assay have been published (Alley, MC et al., Cancer Research 48:589-601, 1988) . Exponentially growing cultures of tumor cells such as the HT-29 colon carcinoma or LX-1 lung tumor are used to make microtiter plate cultures. Cells are seeded at 5000-20,000 cells per well in 96-well plates (in 150 μl of media), and grown overnight at 37°C. Test compounds are added, in 10-fold dilutions varying from 10- 4 M to 10- 10 M. Cells are then incubated for 48-72 hours. To determine the number of viable cells in each well, the MTT dye is added (50 μl of 3 mg/ml solu¬ tion of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide in saline) . This mixture is incubated at 37°C for 5 hours, and then 50 μl of 25% SDS, pH 2 is added to each well. After an overnight incubation, the absorbance of each well at 550 nm is read using an ELISA reader. The values for the mean +/- SD of data from quadruplicate wells are calculated, using the formula % T/C (% viable cells treated/control) . OP of treated cells x 100 = % T/C OD of control cells The concentration of test compound which gives a T/C of 50% growth inhibition is designated as the IC50. B. In vivo methodology Compounds of this invention may be further tested in any of the various preclinical assays for in vivo activity which are indica- tive of clinical utility. Such assays may be conducted with nude mice into which tumor tissue, preferably of human origin, has been transplanted ("xenografted") , as is well known in this field. Test compounds are evaluated for their antitumor efficacy following administration to the xenograft-bearing mice. More specifically, human tumors which have been grown in athymic nude mice are transplanted into new recipient animals, using tu¬ mor fragments which are about 50 mg in size. The day of trans¬ plantation is designated as day 0. Six to ten days later, mice are treated with the test compounds given as an intravenous or intraperitoneal injection, in groups of 5-10 mice at each dose. Compounds are given daily for 5 days, 10 days or 15 days, at doses from 10-100 mg/kg body weight. Tumor diameters and body weights are measured twice weekly. Tumor valumes are calculated using the diameters measured with Vernier calipers, and the for¬ mula: (length x width 2 ' 2 = mm 3 (tumor volume) Mean tumor volumes are calculated for each treatment group, and T/C values determined for each group relative to the untreated control tumors. The data may be evaluated as follows. A T/C value of 1.0 or greater indicates that the compound had no effect on tumor growth, while values < 1.0 indicate some reduction in tumor mass. Values of 0.15-0.49 may be considered to reflect moderate activity, < 0.01-0.14 good to excellent activity. Outstanding ac¬ tivity indicates a compound which gives complete regressions of tumor material regressions of tumor material (no visible tumor mass following therapy) . Compounds yielding T/C values > 0.50 are considered inactive. The invention can be further understood by referring to the fol¬ lowing examples wherein parts and percentages are by weight un¬ less otherwise specified. Examples Example 1 N,N'-Bis [2-(1, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane A mixture of 4 g (20 mmol) of 1,8-naphthalic anhydride and 1.6 g (10 mmol) of N,N'-bis(2-aminoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane was heated in dioxane (40 ml) at reflux temperature for five hours. The pre¬ cipitated solid was filtered, washed, dried and recrystallized from toluene. 3 g (58%) of N,N'-bis [2-(1,8-naphthali¬ mido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane were obtained. M.p. 160°C (Tolu¬ ene) . i H-NMR (CF 3 COOD) δ = 2.54 (m,2H) ; 3.58 (t, J = 7.5, 4H) ; 3.86 (t, J = 4.9, 4H); 4.83 (t, J = 4.8, 4H) ; 7.93 (t, J = 7.4, 4H); 8.48 (d, J = 8.3, 4H) ; 8.73 (d, J = 7.4, 4H) . Anal. Calcu- lated for C 3 ιH 28 N 4 0 4 ; C 71.50; H 5.42; N 10.76. Found: C 71.20; H 5.48; N 10.59. Acetate m.p. 134°C. Methanesulfonate m.p. 215°C. Example 2 N,N'-Bis [2-(4-chloro-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane A mixture of 4 g (17 mmol) of 4-chloro-l, 8-naphthalic anhydride and 1.3 g (8.5 mmol) of N,N'-bis (2-aminoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane was heated in dioxane (40 ml) at reflux temperature for five hours. The precipited solid was filtered, washed, dried and re- crystallized from toluene. 2.9 g (59%) of N,N'- bis[2-(4-chloro-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane were obtained. M.p. 151°C (Toluene). i H-NM (CF 3 COOD) δ = 2.54 (s,2H); 3.57 (t, J = 7.4, 4H); 3.86 (s,4H); 4.81 (s,4H); 8.00 (d, J = 7.9, 2H); 8.04 (d, J = 8.6; 2H) ; 8.62 (d, J = 8.0; 2H) ; 8.78 (d, J - 7.3 2H); 8.90 (d, J = 8.2, 2H) .. Anal. Calculated for C 31 H 26 N 4 0 4 Cl 2 : C 63.16; H 4.44; N 9.50. Found: C 62.89; H 4.49; N 9.20. Example 3 N,N'-Bis[2-(3-nitro-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane As example 1. Yield 64%. M.p. 215°C (DMF) . Example 4 N,N'-Bis [2-(4, 5-dimethylene-l, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diamino¬ propane. As example 1. Yield 51%. M.p. 209°C (Toluene). Example 5 N,N'-Bis[2-(2-hydroxy-l, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diamino¬ propane. As example 1. Yield 29%. M.p. 103°C (EtOH) . Example 6 N,N'-Bis [2-(3-hydroxy-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diamino¬ propane. As example 1. Yield 75%. M.p. 207°C (DMF) . Example 7 N,N'-Bis [2-(4-hydroxy-l, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diamino- propane. As example 1. Yield 38%. M.p. 196°C (EtOH). Example 8 N,N'-Bis [2-(2-methyl-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane. As example 1- Yield 45%. M.p. 220°C (EtOH). Example 9 N,N'-Bis [2-(3-amino-l, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane. As example 1. Yield 72%. M.p. 200°C (DMF-H 2 0) . Example 10 N,N'-Bis [2-(3-acetylamino-l, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diamino¬ propane. As example 1. Yield 63%. M.p. 240°C (DMF-H 2 0) . Example 11 N,N'-Bis[2-(4-nitro-l, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane. As example 1. Yield 32%. M.p. 162°C (Toluene). Example 12 N,N'-Bis [2-(4 -5-dimethyl-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diamino¬ propane. As example 1. Yield 74%. M.p. 205°C (Toluene). Example 13 N,N'-Bis [2- (3-bromo-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl] -1,3-diaminopropane. As example 1. Yield 20%. M.p. 100°C (Toluene-Cyclohexane) . Example 14 N,N'-Bis[2- (1, 8-naphthalimido)ethyl] -N^-dimethyl-l,3-diamino¬ propane. 2 g (3.8 mmol) of N,N'-bis[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3- diaminopropane were dissolved in 10 ml of formic acid and 4 ml of formaldehyde were added to the solution. The reaction mixture was heated at reflux temperature for four hours, the formic acid was removed in vacuum to give a residue which was neutralized with sodium bicarbonate. The obtained solid was filtered and recrys- tallized from ethanol to give 1 g (47%) of N,N'- bis- [2(1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-N,N'-dimethy1-1,3-diaminopropane. M.p. 133°C. (Ethanol). i H-N R (CF 3 -COOD) δ = 2.70 (m,2H); 3.32 (s,6H); 3.63 (m,2H); 3.89 (m,6H); 4.85 (m,4H); 7.90 (m,4H); 8.43 (d, J = 8.2 Hz, 2H) ; 8.47 (d, J = 8.2 Hz, 2H) ; 8.71 (t, J = 8 Hz, 4H) . Anal. Calc. for C 33 H 32 N 4 0 4 : C, 72.24; H, 587; N, 10.21. Found: C, 72.07; H, 5.72; N, 10.25. Example 15 N,N'-Bis-[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-N,N'-diethyl-1, 3-diamino¬ propane 2 g (3.8 mmol) N,N'-bis[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl-1,3-diamino- propane were dissolved in 50 ml of acetic acid and 3.6 g (96 mmol) of sodium borohydride were added slowly. The solution was heated to 50-55°C for 10 h. The reaction was cooled and quenched with 25 ml of water and the solution was extracted with methylene chloride. The extracts were dried and the solvent was removed to vacuum. The residual oil was chromatographed in column yielding 1 g (45%) of N,N'-bis[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)-ethyl]-N,N'- diethyl-1,3-diaminopropane. M.p. 106°C (EtOH). H NMR (CF 3 COOD) δ = 1.54 (t, J = 7.1 HZ, 6H); 2.70 (m, 2H) ; 3.75 (m, 8H) ; 3.86 ( , 4H); 4.82 ( , 4H) ; 7.86 (t, J = 7.8 Hz, 8H) ; 8.38 (d, J = 2.9 Hz, 2H); 8.42 (d, J = 3.0 Hz, 2H) ; 8.66 (d, J = 7.4Hz, 4H) . Example 16 N,N'-Bis-[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-N,N'-dibutyl-1,3-diamino- proane 1 g (1.9 mmol) of N,N'-bis-[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-dia- mino-propane, 0.2 g (3.8 mmol) of KOH and 15 mg of tetrabutylam- moniumbromide were mixed in a flask and put into ultrasonic bath for 15 minutes. Then, 800 mg (5.8 mmol) of n-butylbromide were added to the mixture and the reaction was heated to 80°C for 8h. The product was extracted with CH 2 C1 2 concentrated and chromato¬ graphed in column yielding 0.48 g (40%) of N,N'- bis[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-N,N'-dibutyl-1,3-diaminopropane. M.p. 245°C (EtOH). *H NMR (CF 3 COOD) δ = 1.08 (t, J = 7.0 Hz, 6H) ; 1.57 (m, 4H) ; 1.95 (m, 4H) ; 2.87 (m, 2H) ; 3.60 (m, 4H) ; 3.92 (m, 8H); 4.88 (m, 4H) ; 7.90 (m, 4H) ; 8.47 (t, J = 7.4 Hz, 4H) ; 8.74 (m, 4H) . Example 17 N,N'-Bis[2- (1,8-naphthalimido)ethyl] -1,4-diaminobutane The title compound is produced as described in Example 1, but us¬ ing N,N'-bis (2-aminoethyl)-1,4-diaminobutane in place of N,N'- bis (2-aminoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane. Yield 30%. M.P. 186°C (Toluene-n-Heptane) . Example 18 N,N'-Bis[2- (4-bromo-l,8-naphthalimido)ethyl]-1,3-diaminopropane. As example 1. Yield 58%. M.p. 182°C (EtOH).

Claims: Claims 1. A compound of the Formula and the pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts thereof, wherein X, X' , X'' and X' ' ' are identical or different and are se¬ lected from the group consisting of H, N0 2 , NH 2 , NH-lower acyl, Cι_ 6 alkylamino, di- C →β alkylamino, OH, Cι_ 6 alkoxy, halogen, trihalomethyl, Cχ_ 6 alkyl, formyl, Cι_ 6 alkyl- carbonyl, ureyl, and Cχ- 6 alkylureyl; or X and X' or X'' and X' ' ' may form an ethylen bridge between C-4 and C-5 of the ring systeme; R and R' are H, Cι_ 4 alkyl, aryl or benzyl; A and D are identical or different and are -CH 2 -CH 2 -, which may be optionally substituted with a Cι_ alkyl substituent; B is -(CH 2 ) n -, wherein n is 3 or 4, and may be optionally substi¬ tuted with a Cι_ alkyl substituent. 2. A compound of claim 1 wherein X, X', X" and X"' are identi¬ cal or different and are selected from the group consisting of N0 2 , NH 2 , NH-lower acyl, halogen. 3. A compound of claim 1 wherein at least one of X, X', X" and X'" is NH 2 , NH-lower acyl. A compound of claim 3 wherein X and X' ' are H; X' and X' ' ' are NHC0CH 3 ; and -A-NR-B-NR-D- is -CH(CH 3 )-CH 2 -NH-CH 2 -CH 2 -NH-CH 2 -CH(CH 3 )-. A compound of claim 1 wherein X, X', X'' and X'" are H; and -A-NR-B-NR'-D- is -CH 2 -CH 2 -NH-CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 -NH-CH 2 -CH 2 -. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. 7. A method of treating a tumor in a mammal comprising adminis¬ tering to the mammal bearing such tumor, a tumor-inhibiting amount of a compound of the claim 1. 8. A compound of claim 1 whenever used for combatting diseases. 9. The method of preparing the compounds of claim 1 which com¬ prises reacting a naphthalic anhydride of the formula II wherein X and X' are defined as above, with a polyamine of the formula III H 2 N-A-NR-B-NR'-D-NH 2 III, wherein A and B are defined as above and a naphthalic anhydride of the formula IV wherein X'' and X' ' ' are defined as above. 10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the polyamine of the formula III is protected at a terminal amino group during the first condensation step.

Inventors: BOUSQUET PETER, CASTELLANO BERLANGA JOSE MARIA, FERNANDEZ BRANA MIGUEL, KEILHAUER GERHARD, MORAN MOSET MARINA, PEREZ DE VEGA MARIA JESUS, QIAN XIAO-DONG, ROMERDAHL CYNTHIA, BOUSQUET, PETER, CASTELLANO BERLANGA, JOSE, MARIA, FERNANDEZ BRANA, MIGUEL, KEILHAUER, GERHARD, MORAN MOSET, MARINA, PEREZ DE VEGA, MARIA, JESUS, QIAN, XIAO-DONG, ROMERDAHL, CYNTHIA
Applicants: BASF AG, BOUSQUET PETER, CASTELLANO BERLANGA JOSE MARIA, FERNANDEZ BRANA MIGUEL, KEILHAUER GERHARD, MORAN MOSET MARINA, PEREZ DE VEGA MARIA JESUS, QIAN XIAO DONG, ROMERDAHL CYNTHIA, BASF AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, BOUSQUET, PETER, CASTELLANO BERLANGA, JOSE, MARIA, FERNANDEZ BRANA, MIGUEL, KEILHAUER, GERHARD, MORAN MOSET, MARINA, PEREZ DE VEGA, MARIA, JESUS, QIAN, XIAO-DONG, ROMERDAHL, CYNTHIA
Application year: 1994
Main classification: C07D221
IPC codes: A61K31, A61P35, C07D221